Tracy Deonn
Autor/a de Legendborn
Sobre l'autor
Sèrie
Obres de Tracy Deonn
Vergence 2 exemplars
Obres associades
From a Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empire Strikes Back (2020) — Col·laborador — 308 exemplars
Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America (2018) — Col·laborador — 129 exemplars
Etiquetat
Coneixement comú
- Nom normalitzat
- Deonn, Tracy
- Altres noms
- Walker, Tracy Deonn
- Data de naixement
- 20th century
- Gènere
- female
- Nacionalitat
- USA
- Premis i honors
- Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award (New Talent | 2021)
Astounding Award Nominee for Best New Writer (2022) - Agent
- Penny Moore (Aevitas Creative)
Membres
Ressenyes
Legendborn de Tracy Deonn
Some very strong writing in Deonn's tale of Bree and her discovery of how the past still lives in her.
It’s going to be difficult waiting on the third book to come out! Tracy Deonn is a master at character development and keeping the reader guessing and in suspense. I knew the second book would most likely end in a cliffhanger, and was not wrong. Looking forward to reading the third installment and hoping for the best. Awesome read!
This book has a very solid foundation. Well crafted plot construction, at least somewhat unique characters and, while at times somewhat slow, a very well managed pacing.
But despite being far beyond average in its writing quality there is nothing behind it all.
The entire story is hollow. It's hackneyed and corny clichées all the way down in a very pretty package.
It's YA, so it's no surprise that a lot of this book comes across as shallow to me.
Somewhat of a pet-peeve I want to mention is the whole speel about revenge not bringing back your loved ones. It is true that the drive for revenge can easily become an unhealthy obsession but I can say from experience that many people can only start to process their grief after the person responsible has been brought to justice. Many people are stuck in this never-ending quest for justice because they need closure to even begin to get past their loss. It's a good example of the kind of pseudo-wisdom the book is packed full of.
The only aspect that actually had the potential to convey some actual wisdom was the whole racism thing with a black protagonist. But instead of a nuanced and complex take on the issue, the execution is just one-dimensional and lazy. It reads more like BLM propaganda with a good portion of destructive cancel culture on top.
It promotes everything from willful destruction of monuments to the concept of blood-debt in a form one usually only finds in the mafia. It's disturbing really. And I am not even disputing that racism in general, as well as racism against black people in America in particular, are very real problems. But counter-bigotry is not the solution. It only inflames the conflict to the point where a reasonable debate becomes impossible. I can see how a young person could develop a world-view as this MC does in regards to discrimination against her. It's very believable. But in all other aspects, the cast acts exemplary in all things or at least demonstrates how not to do a thing by immediately having the consequences rain down on them as a harsh lesson in typical YA fashion. Maybe I am doing the series a huge injustice here and all this prejudice and bigotry will be addressed in a more nuanced fashion later on but at no point was there any indication for this. It very much feels like the author believes she is fighting the righteous fight against white oppression.
I want to emphasize here that I tried to keep my judgment of other aspects of the book independent from my problem with the whole racism part. It only is a small part of this 500-page book after all.
I can see how young readers with little reading experience might get a lot more enjoyment out of this than I did.… (més)
But despite being far beyond average in its writing quality there is nothing behind it all.
The entire story is hollow. It's hackneyed and corny clichées all the way down in a very pretty package.
It's YA, so it's no surprise that a lot of this book comes across as shallow to me.
Somewhat of a pet-peeve I want to mention is the whole speel about revenge not bringing back your loved ones. It is true that the drive for revenge can easily become an unhealthy obsession but I can say from experience that many people can only start to process their grief after the person responsible has been brought to justice. Many people are stuck in this never-ending quest for justice because they need closure to even begin to get past their loss. It's a good example of the kind of pseudo-wisdom the book is packed full of.
The only aspect that actually had the potential to convey some actual wisdom was the whole racism thing with a black protagonist. But instead of a nuanced and complex take on the issue, the execution is just one-dimensional and lazy. It reads more like BLM propaganda with a good portion of destructive cancel culture on top.
It promotes everything from willful destruction of monuments to the concept of blood-debt in a form one usually only finds in the mafia. It's disturbing really. And I am not even disputing that racism in general, as well as racism against black people in America in particular, are very real problems. But counter-bigotry is not the solution. It only inflames the conflict to the point where a reasonable debate becomes impossible. I can see how a young person could develop a world-view as this MC does in regards to discrimination against her. It's very believable. But in all other aspects, the cast acts exemplary in all things or at least demonstrates how not to do a thing by immediately having the consequences rain down on them as a harsh lesson in typical YA fashion. Maybe I am doing the series a huge injustice here and all this prejudice and bigotry will be addressed in a more nuanced fashion later on but at no point was there any indication for this. It very much feels like the author believes she is fighting the righteous fight against white oppression.
I want to emphasize here that I tried to keep my judgment of other aspects of the book independent from my problem with the whole racism part. It only is a small part of this 500-page book after all.
I can see how young readers with little reading experience might get a lot more enjoyment out of this than I did.… (més)
{first in Legendborn Cycle trilogy?; fantasy, urban fantasy, Arthurian fantasy, young adult, magic, southern America, college, teen romance} (2020)
Sixteen year old Briana Matthews (Bree) applied to Early College at the University of North Carolina but her mum wasn't keen and they argued about it; then her mum was killed in a car accident. Unable to face living at home, and with her grief and anger still simmering under the surface, three months later Bree starts at UNC with her best friend, Alice Chen. But on their first night there Bree sees something that she's not supposed to see, that no-one else can. And when another college student 'mesmers' her so she forgets what she's seen, she finds that she can shake it off and remember. Which triggers a memory about the time her mum died.
When she accidentally discovers the Order of the Round Table, a secret society on campus which deals in magic and which then unsuccessfully tries to mesmer her again, she determines to join them to see if they had something to do with her mum's death. And so she enters a world which lies hidden within our own where Legendborn, the descendants of Arthur, Merlin and twelve of the strongest knights of the Round Table, battle demons (Shadowborn) to keep humans (Onceborn) safe.
This was a fast-paced, action packed story; I was literally holding my breath over some of the action sequences. There are some slower paced sections to let you catch your breath but I found it one of those books that you can't put down for too long. It twists and turns in unexpected directions. There's a touch of (young adult) romance and also a bit of an Arthurian triangle happening.
I did find the hierarchy of the Order a bit confusing at first; you may find the following helpful.
I liked this story; however, there were a few minor issues. I found that most of the secondary (male) characters in the Legendborn society were indistinguishable from each other so they were just a welter of names to me and there were a couple of times that Bree extrapolated information that wasn't obvious to me. There were a few plot points towards the end that I could use clarification on - or maybe that will happen in the sequel - such as how the demon got past the wards. And I do wonder why the Order of the Round Table isn't still in Wales, or at least Britain, rather than in the United States - or even scattered around the world.
One thing I wasn't comfortable with - though I appreciated how comfortable Bree was about being black-American - was the way Deonn often highlighted negative attitudes which Bree encountered because of her skin colour. I know it's a real world issue but I did not enjoy it when it cropped up (there's a reason I read fantasy, after all) and I didn't feel it added anything to the story; in some instances it fell forced. I understand why the author put it in but I felt the narrative could have done without those encounters. Docking half a star.
Other than that, I thought it was a really good story and I'll be looking for the next book - once I've recovered my breath!
(October 2023)
4 stars… (més)
Sixteen year old Briana Matthews (Bree) applied to Early College at the University of North Carolina but her mum wasn't keen and they argued about it; then her mum was killed in a car accident. Unable to face living at home, and with her grief and anger still simmering under the surface, three months later Bree starts at UNC with her best friend, Alice Chen. But on their first night there Bree sees something that she's not supposed to see, that no-one else can. And when another college student 'mesmers' her so she forgets what she's seen, she finds that she can shake it off and remember. Which triggers a memory about the time her mum died.
When she accidentally discovers the Order of the Round Table, a secret society on campus which deals in magic and which then unsuccessfully tries to mesmer her again, she determines to join them to see if they had something to do with her mum's death. And so she enters a world which lies hidden within our own where Legendborn, the descendants of Arthur, Merlin and twelve of the strongest knights of the Round Table, battle demons (Shadowborn) to keep humans (Onceborn) safe.
This was a fast-paced, action packed story; I was literally holding my breath over some of the action sequences. There are some slower paced sections to let you catch your breath but I found it one of those books that you can't put down for too long. It twists and turns in unexpected directions. There's a touch of (young adult) romance and also a bit of an Arthurian triangle happening.
I did find the hierarchy of the Order a bit confusing at first; you may find the following helpful.
"Our Vassal friends and their contemporary fiefdoms are the Order's lower limbs. Without them, we would not have walked through fifteen centuries of this war, would not have advanced from the Middle Ages to modernity. Pages are the left hand: once Oathed, you will be granted Sight in order to hold the shield while we fight in the shadows. Merlins are the right hand, the sword and fists of the Order. Our guardians and weapons against the darkness. The Legendborn Scions and Squires are the heart. The holy text of their Lines has fueled our mission from the beginning. The Regents are the spine, directing our eyes and energies to the urgent matters at hand."There are thirteen Legendborn Lines descended from the last knights of the Round Table and they can take Onceborn Pages and Squires who then become part of the society. There are also Vassal families (Onceborns) who don't get involved in the fighting but are pledged in service to one of the Lines; they accrue financial and other benefits and their children may be chosen to be Pages. Pages (usually from Vassal families) are invited by Legendborn for initiation and granted Sight after taking the Oath of Fealty; they can then compete for limited spots to become Squires (battle partners) to Scions (who can belong to a different Line from their sponsor). Scions are Legendborn, born with the title; not just descendants but heirs of the knights. Merlins are the Order's sorcerers. There is also a High Council of Regents which rules the society.
I liked this story; however, there were a few minor issues. I found that most of the secondary (male) characters in the Legendborn society were indistinguishable from each other so they were just a welter of names to me and there were a couple of times that Bree extrapolated information that wasn't obvious to me. There were a few plot points towards the end that I could use clarification on - or maybe that will happen in the sequel - such as how the demon got past the wards. And I do wonder why the Order of the Round Table isn't still in Wales, or at least Britain, rather than in the United States - or even scattered around the world.
One thing I wasn't comfortable with - though I appreciated how comfortable Bree was about being black-American - was the way Deonn often highlighted negative attitudes which Bree encountered because of her skin colour. I know it's a real world issue but I did not enjoy it when it cropped up (there's a reason I read fantasy, after all) and I didn't feel it added anything to the story; in some instances it fell forced. I understand why the author put it in but I felt the narrative could have done without those encounters. Docking half a star.
Other than that, I thought it was a really good story and I'll be looking for the next book - once I've recovered my breath!
(October 2023)
4 stars… (més)
Llistes
Premis
Potser també t'agrada
Autors associats
Estadístiques
- Obres
- 5
- També de
- 4
- Membres
- 3,255
- Popularitat
- #7,855
- Valoració
- 4.3
- Ressenyes
- 73
- ISBN
- 35
- Llengües
- 6
- Preferit
- 1
- Pedres de toc
- 6